A man led police on a 86mph chase through the city centre before crashing into another car.
Hardi Khorshid, from Toxteth, borrowed £3,000 to buy a Land Rover Discovery which was on false plates after being stolen in a burglary in Stockport. Police saw the vehicle being driven by Khorshid in Kensington around midday on December 3, 2020.
Officers followed and tried to get him to stop and he slowed down with his hazard lights on but then accelerated away. Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday a police chase then followed during which he reached speeds of up to 86mph in 30mph zones.
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Chris Taylor, prosecuting, said Khorshid, now 25, went through three sets of red traffic lights forcing other motorists to take evasive action. Eventually in Spellow Lane, Walton, he reduced his speed because of stationary cars at traffic lights but was unable to stop and crashed into the rear of the vehicle in front.
Mr Taylor said: “Officers sought to box the vehicle in but he left it and made off on foot with the vehicle still slightly moving." He was detained near by and arrested. The Land Rover Discovery had sustained damage costing up to £26,000, added the prosecutor.
Khorshid, of Percy Street, Toxteth, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, driving without a licence and insurance and being in breach of bail. The court also heard Khorshid had fled his homeland after tragically witnessing both his parents die in a bomb blast.
Jailing him for 12 months Judge Denis Watson, QC, said: “Your family background is nothing less than tragic. No-one should have to deal with the loss of parents in the manner in which you lost yours. But it is absolutely no excuse whatsoever for your decision to try to outrun the police that day.
“You were driving a big heavy vehicle which could have killed someone. It is only by chance that no-one was seriously injured or killed. Even when you reached stationary traffic you were driving so fast you could not avoid a collision and your disregard for other people was such that you abandoned the vehicle when it was still moving."
He banned him from driving for 18 months and ordered him to take an extended driving test before getting back behind the wheel. He pointed out that Khorshid had been at large for 15 months after his arrest.
Brendan Carville, defending, said the defendant, who has no previous convictions here, was an asylum seeker and he told the court about his parents’ tragic deaths. He said the Kurdish community have rallied around and Khorshid had been offered a home by a couple in Leeds, who were present in the public gallery.
He had not been involved in stealing the vehicle ten weeks earlier and “says he had been tricked into buying and driving it.” The defendant had borrowed £3,000 to buy the vehicle after being approached by three men and he still owes that amount, said Mr Carville.
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